Purpose and Mission

Good morning, dear ones. I thought I would take moment to write up a quick something. This way you get an update and I get to get some stuff out of my head. Ready? Here we go.

It's been a summer already, friends. This past week was a hot mess on a lot of different levels. Cabin stuff, friend stuff, life stuff. Just a mess. That can be a blog for another time, though. Only two weeks left and then the reality of complete and life-altering change will finally set in.  I don't think that I have completely accepted that I won't drive my car in the direction of Prinsburg when July 29 rolls around. So far summer is as summer has been. I finished school, came to camp, etc. The normal routine of things. However, when this "normal" part of my summer ends, I face a future that scares me....a lot. But that is not what this blog is about so I will get to the point.  Next paragraph, please.

When I come to camp, I get to meet a whole new group of young adults or young adults whom I have known for years who have come back. I'm kind of the odd person out because I am so much older than, well, ALL of them. However, I think that this works to my benefit.  I enjoy helping people. At camp, there is never a shortage of help that can be offered and provided when it comes to young adults trying to navigate this crazy, tricky thing called life. I was there once. I was a young adult. I remember the struggle. I'm not THAT far removed from it. I believe that God gives me this golden opportunity each summer to help where I can. Offer advice when it is appropriate, Spirit-led, and needed. There's a certain purpose and mission to it that I can get behind.

Maybe, just maybe, I'm not as done with young adult ministry as I previously thought. When I was actually a leader in a young adult ministry, I couldn't get away from it fast enough. I burned out on it and I think I finally figured out why. I was a young adult ministering to other young adults about things that I myself had not yet figured out. How could I lead other young adults when I didn't know who I was? I was struggling with life and trying to be a leader for others who were struggling with life. It was a recipe for disaster and that is essentially what it became- a disaster. I burned out so hardcore that I swore I would never do it again.

And then camp happens and I am surrounded by young adults. However, I am older now. I have a little more life experience and feel like I am better grounded. I don't have everything figured out. In fact, some days I feel like I have nothing figured out. The difference is that I know the One who does and I trust Him more than I did when I was a young adult. Is it possible that maybe, just maybe, God is bringing me back to a ministry that I once dearly loved? Is it possible that He is using my time at camp to reignite a purpose and mission that lay dormant for years? It is a possibility. I just need to get out of the way and let God have His way. 

What does that mean going forward? I have no idea. I just work here. However, I do feel Him stirring up something inside of me that I haven't felt in a really long time and it's exciting. It kind of feels like going home. 

I guess that is all I have for now. Still a work in progress, still moving whichever way God needs me to move, still feeling unsettled and out of my comfort zone. In other words, I'm in just the right spot.